Method of finishing hats



Sept. 25, 1934. A. SPECHLER METHOD OF FINISHING HATS Filed April 12, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I INVENTOR ABRAHAM SPECHLER BY @zm/ TTORNEY Sept. 25, 1934. A. SPECHLER 7 METHOD OF FINISHING HATS .Filed April 12, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l IIIIIIIII f YINVENTOR ABRAHAM SPEcHLsR ATTORNEY Fatenterl Sept. 25 i934 STATES OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in a method of finishing hats.

The invention has for an object the teachin of a method which is characterized by a novel sequence of steps producing a finish of exceptional merit.

More particularly the invention has reference to the step of bufling with a cloth roller, certain portions of the material of a hat after it has been handled in a particular manner so as to make the nap stand up prominently.

Still further the invention relates to an arrangement whereby fibrous material such as felt from which a hat is to be produced is embossed to produce a design, whereby the raised portions .of the embossed design are sandpapered for the purpose of breaking the fibres of the material producing a nap, whichnap is treated according to novel steps of this invention.

Still further the invention also contemplates an arrangement whereby the last step of the process consists in clipping the nap to a proper and uniform length.

Another one of the objects of this invention is the teaching of bufling, sandpapering and the other steps of this process characterized by particular steps of holding the material being worked upon in a certain manner to produce the most advantageous results. Q Furthermore as another object the invention proposes an arrangement for treating the material from which the hat is to be made characterized by a roller support for portions of the hat being treated.

a novel arrangement of treating the design wherein certain portions of the hat or material are supported in parallel strips and urged against the sandpapering device in a manner so as to produce a nap in stripes.

Still further the invention also contemplates the step of depressing intermediate portions of material being treated as mentioned in the previous paragraph so as to bring the nap out in greater prominence.

Still further the invention proposes teaching a method as briefly described above which may be carried out at a reasonable cost.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description, accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which the various novel features are more particularly set forth.

Still further the invention also contemplates In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure: 7

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a machine which is of aid to understand a method for finishing hats according to this invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged elevational view looking in the direction of the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing in particular a portion of the machine which functions to permit. steps of finishing a hat according to this invention.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Fi 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a hat with a design according to this invention.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 9 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary enlarged view similar to a portion of Fig. 3 but illustrating mechanism for carrying out steps according to a modification of the invention. 5

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 2 but illustrating the use of the mechanism shown in Fi 6.

Fig. 8 is a schematic view of apparatus for treating material to be used for hats accordin to a modification of this invention.

The invention may best be understood by first understanding the machine illustrated in Figs. i-3 inclusive. This machine comprises a body 10 rotatively supporting a shaft 11 extended fromboth sides of the body. Mechanism is provided for driving this shaft, but the details for this mechanism will not be given. Upon one end of the shaft 11 there is mounted a sandpaper roller 12. This sandpaper roller comprises merely a roller having sandpaper upon its periphery so as to be adapted to sandpaper substances engaged against it. Ofiset slightly to the front end of the sandpaper-ing roller 12 there is located a support 13 upon which a hat may be rested. This support is mounted upon a bracket 14 adjustable on a shaft 15 supported on the body.

Stationary elements 16 are arranged on opposite sides of the body 10. One of these stationary elements, the one upon the'left is provided'with a stationary base plate 17 attachedin a fixed position. An adjustable plate 18 is mounted upon the stationary plate 1'7 and is formed with several: elongated openings 19 through which theclamping bolts and nuts 20 engage for holding the plate 18 in adjusted positions. These elongatedopenings 19 are arranged upon the arc of a circle so that the plate 18 may be adjusted along the arc of a circle.

' An arm 21 projects from the plate is andjis m formed with a horizontal elongated slot 22 in which a stud 23 is slidably arranged. This stud has a reduced end extended through the slot 22 .and provided with a nut 24 by which the stud may be fixed in various horizontal positions. The stud 23 is formed with an opening in the front from which a radial arm 25 projects. This radial arm may be shifted longitudinally along within the stud 23 and clamped in various fixed positions by clamping screw 26.

The lower end ofthe arm 25 is provided with a roller 27 rotative upon a pin 28. This roller 27 is of importance in carrying out one of the steps of the process. The roller may be adjusted relative to the sandpaper roller 12 so as to produce a given space A, see Fig. 2, through which the material of the hat must be passed during the operation of the process. The details of this will be given further on.

A dust guard 29 partially encircles the sandpaper roller 12 for the purpose of absorbing dust. The details of this guard are not important. The other end of the shaft 11 is provided with a roller 30 constructed from a plurality of adjacent discs of cloth. This roller constitutes a bufiing roller for the purpose of carrying out another of the steps of this process. This buifing roller is surrounded with a guard 31 details of which are not important. An adjustable bracket 32 is arranged to the front of the bufling roller 30 for the purpose of providing a support for supporting the hat during the carrying out of the process. This bracket 32 is mounted upon a collar 33 adjustable on the shaft 15. It is believed that sufl'icient details of the machine have now been described so that the subsequent application of the process may be understood. The drawings illustrate further details of the machine. These parts need not be described in detail in understanding of the process.

The invention relates particularly to felt hats, or other fibrous hats and to a process for finishing these hats by raising a nap in a certain fashion. In Figs. 4 and 5 a felt hat is illustrated embossed with a particular design. The embossing of the hat is necessarily one step of the process since the finishing relates to an embossed hat. This step is not new generally but known in the art. A hat may be embossed with any desirable design by the provision of a mold into which the blank hat is engaged, and the mold operated. Generally the mold is provided with one rubber member which may be expanded under hydraulic pressure and forces the hat into form, in a moist condition, into the other section of the mold so as to crease and sink portions therein and so produce the design.

The next step of the process consists in breaking the fibres of the raised portions of the design so as to produce a nap along the raised portions. This step is carried out by the use of sandpaper. More particularly the hat is engaged upon the supporting arm 13 and a portion of the hat engag'ed over the roller 27 so that it is located between the roller 27 and the sandpaper roller 12. The sandpaper roller is then operated by the operation of the machine which rotates it. The hat then moves around over the roller 27 in a manner so that the raised portions of the embossed design becomes sandpapered or abrased ofi. This exposes ends of the elements of the fibrous material or produces a nap.

The next step of the process consists in bufiing the sandpapered portions with a cloth roller so as to make the nap stand up prominently. This may be done by engaging the hat against the bracket support and moving it against the bufling roller 30 during the operation of the buffing roller.

The last step in the process consists in clipping the nap so as to be uniform and even.' Preferably this clipping should be done with a conventional rotary knife though of course it may be clipped by hand. The feature of the invention is the sequence of the particularsteps for production of the finished hat. After the clipping operation, the hat is blocked, put in shape and ironed, preferably on the reverse side. Then the hat is turned on the right side and the brim ironed on both sides. Then a coating of fluid consisting of one half alcohol and one half water is applied with a soft sponge and allowed to penetrate for a few minutes until the moisture disappears from the surface of the hat. Then the hat is subjected to a dash of steam. Finally a dry hot lure is used to apply the last finish and to produce a lasting lustrous appearance.

In Figs. 6 and 7 some mechanism has been illustrated wherein a modification of the process may be carried out for altering the ornamental effect of the hat. The arrangement is such that only certain portions of the raised portions of the design of the hat are treated. The mechanism comprises a roller 27' characterized by a plurality of annular spaced portions produced by annular grooves 2'7 A spring bracket 25 is attached upon the arm 25 and is formed with an extended portion 25 partially engaging into each of the grooves 27*. The purpose of the extended portion 25 is to force the cloth material into the grooves so that only certain portions engage against the sandpaper roller.

In Fig. 7 a side view of the device shown in Fig. 6 is shown associated with the sandpapering roller. The space is adjusted depending upon the particular design and the particular thickness of the material treated. The operation consists in engaging the hat over the roller 2'7 which presses the hat against the sandpaper roller but only at the high portions. The bracket 25 with projections 25 will hold the other portions of the hat or material within the grooves so as not to be touched by the sandpaper-mg device. Consequently the hat will be sandpapered in parallel stripes only. A checker effect will be produced if these parallel stripes are arranged at right angles to stripes of the design of the hat. Irrespective of the design of the hat the sandpapering will be accomplished in parallel stripes only and so produce a very novel design. The remaining steps of the process are the same as previously described, that is, after the sandpapering has been completed then buffing is used to raise the nap of the hat. Finally the nap is clipped to proper size.

In Fig. 8 another modification of the invention is disclosed wherein a strip of material 35 is treated according to this invention and may thereafter be used to manufacture hats or other wearing apparel and for other purposes. According to ,this process an upper roller 36 works in conjunction with a bottom roller 3'? to emboss the strip of fibrous material 35 with the particular design of the roller 36. Necessarily the roller 36 must be engraved with the design. The material then continues to the sandpaper roller 38 which is adapted to sandpaper the raised portions of the design. The web of the material keeps moving along to the bufling roller 39 which the roller 40 which is a circular knife and cuts the nap to a desired size.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and the right is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A method for finishing hats, consisting of embossing fibrous material with a design, sandpapering raised portions of said design for breaking the fibres of the material for producing a nap, bufiing said nap with a cloth roller to make the nap stand up prominently and clipping the nap, said sandpapering step comprising rolling the material over a roller held spaced from the sandpapering roller.

2. A method of finishing a hat, consisting in heat hydraulic die embossing of fibrous material, supporting portions of said fibrous material in parallel stripes and engaging said supported portions against a sandpapering roller so 'as to sandpaper parallel strips breaking parallel strips of fibres of the material and producing parallel stripes of nap, buiflng said material to makesaid nap stand up prominently and clipping the nap, then ironing the hat on a hat block, coating the ironed hat with a coating fluid, then allowing the said coating fluid to dry and exposing the hat to a dash of steam and finally applying a last finish with a dry hot lure.

3. A method of finishing a hat, consisting in heat hydraulic die embossing of fibrous material, supporting portions of said fibrous material in parallel stripes and engaging said supported portions against a sandpapering roller so as to sandpaper parallel strips breaking parallel strips of fibres of the material and producing parallel stripes of nap, bufling said material to make said nap stand up prominently and clipping the nap, then ironing the hat on a hat block coating the ironed hat with a coating fluid, then allowing the said coating fluid to dry and exposing the hat to a dash of steam and finally applying a last finish with a dry hot lure, said coating fluid consisting of about one-half alcohol and one-half water.

ABRAHAM SPECHLER. 

